This invention relates to a holder for a drink carton.
Milk, juice, lemonade and other drinks are commonly served in conventional single serving, ultra-pasteurized drink cartons or drink boxes. These boxes are generally of a standard size of approximately two and one half inches wide, four and one eighth inches high, and one and five eighths inches thick. They are also sold in other sizes, and the invention can be readily accommodated to such other sizes. Ultra-pasteurized beverage boxes of this type have become popular because they can store perishable liquids without a requirement of refrigeration until the box has been opened. In the commonly marketed size, they provide handy single serving containers suitable for children to carry to school in their lunch boxes or for businessmen to pack in their briefcases. The drink boxes are commonly provided with a sealed opening which can be pierced by a straw or other object to allow access to the liquid inside. The drink boxes are commonly sold with a drinking straw included.
Handy though it may be, the juice box has several disadvantages that restrict its usefulness. A first disadvantage is that the juice box cannot be conveniently resealed once it has been opened. There is consequently a risk of spilling if an opened but unsealed juice box whose contents have not been completely drunk is left lying around or is placed in a refrigerator where it can be inadvertently knocked over. Moreover, a conventional juice box or juice carton has the disadvantage of being easily squeezeable in such a manner that the contents of the juice box can be squirted out through the straw. Although this may be a source of amusement for children, cleaning up the consequent mess is a headache for grown-ups.
A second disadvantage of conventional juice boxes is that they do not provide a place for storing the drinking straw when the juice box is put away after partial use. Simply leaving the straw in the straw hole provided is undesirable because it is unwieldy and the exposed straw can pick up dirt or germs from the surrounding environment.
It is therefore desirable to have a carrier or holder for a conventional juice box that allows easy storage of the juice box when it is not being used. It is further desirable that the carrier be composed of material sufficiently rigid so that a person, especially a child, holding the carrier with the juice box inside cannot squeeze the sides of the juice box and cause the juice inside to squirt out. It is further desirable that the carrier or holder allow easy insertion and removal of a juice box. It is further desirable to have a carrier that permits the storage of the drinking straw within the interior of the carrier so that when the juice box is not in use, the straw is not exposed to an unsanitary environment.
It is also desirable that the carrier or holder have some means of initially puncturing the straw hole of the juice box and later stoppering it when the juice box is not being used. It is desirable that the stopper member used to accomplish the puncturing and stoppering be permanently attached to the drink box carrier so that it does not get lost and that it be affixed to the carrier in such a way that the stopper end can be moved to accommodate various straw hole positions of different juice boxes.
It has been found that a suitable holder for drink containers in accordance with the invention may be obtained by providing a rigid plastic carrier comprising a main housing, a lid member coupled to the housing, and having a first aperture for receiving a first end of a stopper member and a second aperture for providing access to the straw hole of a juice container when it is inside the housing. The invention includes a stopper member having a first end received in the first aperture and a second end releasably received in the second aperture. The second end of the stopper member can be used to puncture and seal the straw hole of a juice box placed inside the holder. The first end of the stopper member cooperates with the first aperture to allow the second end to be moved to accommodate various straw hole positions and to be moved out of the way when the juice box is being used.
A plurality of ribs in the interior of the main housing support the drink container and add strength to resist squeezing. One or more holes in the bottom of the housing facilitate insertion and removal of the juice box. Secondary ribs in one corner of the interior of the main housing serve to accommodate a straw.
The above and other features and advantages of the invention will be clear and will present themselves from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the drawings also forming a part of this disclosure.